Concept Statement:
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a dark lullaby, where the sweet sound makes you feel at ease, but the words and meaning keep you awake and on guard.
Concept Explained:
The town that Sleepy Hollow was built on is cursed and messes with the villagers at any and all times.Moments that the villages are in control of suddenly become moments controlled by the legend.
“Certain, the place still continues this way,
Under some power that holds gentle sway
Over their people, their minds and their memory,
So that they walk in continual reverie.” - Brom Bones
Working with high school students of all grades on this production encouraged an ensemble, story-telling approach to this production. Following the text, each actor/ player gets their turn to narrate a portion of the action and then seamlessly enters the scene.
There were a lot of choreographed transitions and even a few choreographed dances within the production to emphasize the state of Ichabod Crane’s mind and current emotions. For example, when Ichabod gets carried away by all the food on display upon entering the Van Tassel home, he goes into a trance which led to the moment in the production known in rehearsal as the “Food Montage“. Imagine Fresh bread, cakes, and ciders, flooding the stage and surrounding Ichabod in a smooth, mouth-watering dance of pure imagination.
My hope is that my company learned to share the spotlight in order to tell one story. Each actor had their breakout moment, but it was about the nuances in the pacing, suspense, and consistent delivery of the lines, which were in rhyme. We literally had one rehearsal where we sat in a circle and tossed a ball to the person who was speaking next. Of course, the speed of the pass depended upon the scene and its pacing, but it was a great physical visual which translated really well on stage during a run of the scene.
